Coco: One Shots
by Hufflepuffection
Summary: Series of one shots based on the movie Coco. (DISCONTINUED)
1. Young Love

AN - Just a series of one shots. Enjoy!

* * *

"I don't know about this Hector...", said a frightened Imelda as she clung to the nearly fraying rope that hung a few feet over the lake that was hidden among the outskirts of Santa Cecilia.

The sun was setting and with little to no people there were, Hector decided it was a good idea to go for a swim.

As Imelda stared at the shaggy haired, lanky guy already in the water, bobbing up and down, her heart fluttered at the sight of him.

This was their second date. And being only 18 meant the two of them could stay out as late as they wanted.

* * *

Their first date, if you could really call it that, didn't go so well. They planned on going to dinner. Imelda felt foolish when she put on her fanciest dress while Hector sported a normal shirt and jeans. Hector felt equally foolish; here he was looking like a bum when the most beautiful girl in town agreed to go on a date with him. He could have kicked himself.

It didn't help that through their entire date, both were too nervous to speak to each other at first. The awkward tension was broken the moment a mariachi band began to perform, causing a crowd to form and start dancing.

Neither Hector nor Imelda knew what to do until Hector offered his hand.

* * *

"You can do it!", encouraged Hector as he gestured at her to jump.

Both decided to leave their clothes on; Imelda has always been told she was beautiful and had a great figure, but she was still insecure about it nonetheless.

Hector on the other hand, knew full well he was incredibly skinny and not as handsome as his friend Ernesto. But always did his best to be charming. He figured this was one of the reasons Imelda took interest in him. Remembering how her younger brother, Oscar, teased the pair and how Imelda confided in him that Hector was really sweet, he did his best to make sure he didn't get cocky over it.

After a few more minutes of hesitation, Imelda ran back, clung as tight as she could to the rope, ran over the edge and jumped on before letting go. She could have sworn she could fly.

Colliding with the cold water felt amazing as it saved her from the heat. Swimming back up to the surface, she quickly tied her soaked hair in a bun so it was out of her face. She smiled as she saw Hector wading over to her.

"See? I told you!", he said, getting closer to her.

"I had to, I couldn't be upstaged by you, you show off", teased Imelda as she splashed him.

Hector smiled, doing it back to her. He remembered the first time he saw her. It was back in the Plaza he and Ernesto were performing in for a few people who showed up. He spotted Imelda watching the show through an open window. She looked just as interested in their music as he was. "Hey! I might be famous one day", he said as he began to float on his back, watching the setting sun.

It would be dark soon.

"I'd be surprised if you wouldn't be", said Imelda, swimming closer to him. "You're _really_ talented."

"Thank you, Imelda."

"Of course, as long as that's not all you care about... being famous", said Imelda uneasily. "You said you write all of your songs? When I hear you perform, I can tell you put your heart and soul into the words you sing. That's more important than anything."

Hector stood up as he stared at her. He smiled. "Exactly", he said. From their entire partnership, Hector kept trying to tell Ernesto that's how it should be. He was just amazed someone else understood.

* * *

After an hour or so, the two of them decided it was time to go.

The moonlight was gorgeous but wasn't to be relied on for someone to make their way through the darkness; Hector walked Imelda home.

Their clothes were partly wet still, but that didn't stop them from having the time of their lives.

Making their way to Imelda's front door, they could see no lights were on inside. Imelda was secretly happy. Nobody could ruin what she hoped would happen next.

She stood with her back against the doorframe, arms behind her, hands folded, with Hector in front of her. He wasn't exactly looming over her, he was just that tall. For as nervous as she was, she didn't think he felt the same way as he began to wrack his brain on how to do this correctly.

Hector always became the third wheel whenever Ernesto was alone with a girl. But he didn't want to be like Ernesto; he didn't want to have a new girl every week and leave them broken hearted when he found someone else.

" _No_ ", thought Hector as he pushed a strand of Imelda's hair behind her ear and gently laid his hand on her cheek, using his thumb to caress it. The more he stood there, the more he stared at her, the more he touched her, the more he realized that never in his wildest dreams would he even think of hurting her. "So, I'll see you tomorrow right?", he asked.

"I'd like that", whispered Imelda, placing a hand on the front of his shirt, pulling him closer.

Hector was fully aware of how close their faces were. How close their lips were. But there was still something holding him back. He hoped she wouldn't think less of him. "I, I've never... umm..."

Relief flooded him as he saw Imelda shrug. "Neither have I...", she responded, grinning. Her eyes locked with his.

The only way the two of them could describe their kiss was perfect.


	2. How?

School had just let out for the local kids of Santa Cecilia; most ran home right away, others had stayed on the playground with friends, some were doing their best to terrorize the residents of the town with the last ounces of energy they had left by acting crazy, running through yards lighting sparklers. It wasn't even Dia de los Muertos yet...

Two children however, took solace in their private hideout in a small patch of woods in an abandoned treehouse neither of them knew whom it was built by.

On any other day, they would talk about everything going on in their lives, planning their next adventure. But today was being saddened every minute, despite the sun shining brighter than ever before.

"Come on, cheer up, Socorro", said 14 year old Julio. He hated seeing his best friend so upset. "How about I play some records?", he said gesturing towards his nearly broken record player.

13 year old Coco smirked, knowing full well what he was doing. "You know my Mama's rule."

"Yeah, but that's only at your house. Not here", he said sitting next to her.

She turned to face him as she placed her hand on his. "Thank you but I'm not in the mood."

He hoped she didn't see him blush. "If this is about what happened at school, don't worry about it. She's loco."

Coco scoffed. A girl in her class, Clara, kept boasting about how for the school's upcoming dance, she would have a new dress. And that her father would be attending as well for the father-daughter dance. The girl asked Coco if her father would show up to dance with her. Julio wanted to trip Clara, but he knew not to harm girls.

Coco thought about what happened today, what occurred when she was little, and what would go on in the future. "Julio? Can I ask you something?", she asked without taking her eyes off her clenched hands.

"Anything."

"Will we still be friends when we get older?"

Julio stared at her as though this was the strangest question in the world. "I was planning on it, Socorro. Why would you ask that?"

"T-things change. People change", she said. "You're my best friend. But how do I know if one day you decide I'm not good enough?"

"Coco, how could that possibly happen?", asked Julio concerned.

Her voice became shaky. "How could it possibly happen that things have to keep changing for the worst? How could it possibly happen that my Mama would banish music from our house even though she loved it? How could it possibly happen that people just... _leave_?", said Coco, tears filling her eyes as she thought of her father, Hector.

Julio slung his arm around her, blushing even more now that she rested her head on his shoulder. He was never sure what to say to make her feel better. All he knew was that he could be there to comfort her.

And that was all Coco wanted: For Julio to be there.

She wanted to hate herself for thinking what she normally thought. She imagined her father with a new family, another daughter that would sing Remember Me, a song Hector had written just for her. The two of them would sing it every night.

It hurt Coco to think this could be the new reality.

But if Hector didn't want to have his first family, then why would he start a new one? It didn't and couldn't make sense.

After all, from the memories Coco had of her father, she remembered how he would always tell and show her just how much he loved her and her mama.

He loved them.

Right?

* * *

 _Meanwhile_...

"I'm telling you, Cheech, this year is my year!", exclaimed the excited skeleton, who was swinging his legs over the dock as he began to think his plan through again and again and again.

The shorter skeleton rolled his eyes as he knew exactly what was going to happen. "It's not going to work, Hector. You'll be spending the rest of Dia de los Muertos in a cell. Your plans never work."

This didn't shake Hector's spirit away. "No! I can feel it in my bones!", he exclaimed as he stood and did a full body shake, causing his ribs and spine to pop in and out of place. "But uh, I'll need to borrow your van", he said pointing to the red and white vehicle parked just outside of Shantytown.

"Why?", asked Chicharron.

"Well if I can't walk across the bridge, maybe I can drive across it. It's got to work! And then I get to see mi familia", said Hector, taking a moment to think of his wife and daughter.

Cheech held back from his oncoming protests about someone else using his van, but he never held it against Hector on why he wanted to use his possessions. "How old is your girl, Hector?"

"4...", started Hector. How could he be so stupid. "Uh, 13... she's 13." He went back to sitting on the dock taking in the sights of the Land of the Dead. "She'll probably look more like Imelda."

The thought of seeing Imelda and Coco again gave him hope. It broke his heart. This was never the way he wanted to see them after all this time. But it was better than not seeing them at all. Even more so he wanted desperately to explain to them why he didn't come back. That damn Chorizo. Who would've thought that would be the reason for his end?

He just needed to hold onto that hope. No matter what.

* * *

AN - I've read that Coco book and it tells how Coco and Julio actually met, but even before that I imagined they'd have a Cory and Topanga childhood romance.

Enjoy!


	3. Regret

AN - This was requested by demon doritto.

I hope you like it!

Enjoy!

* * *

It was late by the time Hector had gotten off the train. He would never forget the disappointed look on Ernesto's face when he said he quit.

Hector knew what he wanted to do for the rest of his life, and it wasn't performing like a monkey for different people in different towns every night when he'd rather be spending his time with the people that actually meant something to him.

Smiling, he pictured his little girl's excited face after not seeing her Papa for three months. How big she must have gotten; kids grow faster than one might think...

And Imelda, she would probably be upset at him for not writing. But he wanted his early homecoming to be a surprise.

As he made his way through the crowded Plaza, suitcase and guitar case in hand, joy filled his face at the sight of the Rivera household. The candlelight shown through the darkness. The girls must still be up.

There were shadows moving about the house. The silhouettes of the people inside made it look like an altercation was taking place.

"What is going on?", thought Hector as he swiftly made his way inside, put down his luggage and saw what was happening: Imelda looked fierce and was obviously prepared to slap someone with her boot. Felipe was the victim as he tried to appear fearless yet flinched when the door had flung open. Óscar was nowhere to be seen. That's odd. Normally they were always together.

"Hector!", exclaimed Imelda as she momentarily forgot her anger towards her brother and ran into her husband's open arms. The two embraced. "I've missed you!", she said happily.

"I've missed you more, mi amor", said Hector, kissing her again. "You have no idea how good it is to see you", he said, releasing her. "Is Coco asleep?"

"Yes", said Óscar, emerging from another room looking very tired. "I just got her to sleep and I'd appreciate it if you'd keep the noise down", he said exasperated as he sat on the sofa. "Hola Hector."

"Hola", said Hector averting his attention back to the other twin. "What's going on her-?"

"Imelda's upset that I suggested she shouldn't be so uptight all the time, even after I made a little mistake", said Felipe as he leaned against a doorframe, crossing his arms.

Imelda turned her attention back to her younger brother. Even though he was taller than her she wasn't intimidated by that. "A little mistake? You nearly killed my daughter!"

"What?!", said Hector concerned.

"This idiot left his boots on the top of the stairs and when Coco tried to come down, she tripped over them and fell down the entire flight", explained Imelda.

"Is she-", began Hector, feeling that protective fatherly instinct.

"She's fine", interrupted Óscar. "Imelda, you're overreacting. There's only five steps on the stairs. And Coco wasn't hurt. She's a tough girl", he said thinking about how when he was younger, Imelda would always try to beat him and Felipe in a wrestling match.

"Be that as it may, I can't have you being so careless! You're an adult now, Felipe, it's time you started acting like one, you idiot!", said Imelda, looking as fierce as ever.

Felipe rolled his eyes. "You sound like Mama."

"Well someone has to! I shouldn't be in charge of 3 kids. I expected more from you. How do you expect me to take care of my daughter when you come home drunk every night? Last time you drank you got arrested."

"Well how do you think I feel, Imelda? Helping you out and you don't even appreciate it. Sometimes I think you don't want me around", argued Felipe.

"Yeah, you're right. And sometimes I wish you weren't even born!", yelled Imelda.

There was a brief silence throughout the room.

The look of hurt on Felipe's face was enough to make Imelda immediately regret what she had just said. "Felipe, I-"

"Don't!", exclaimed Felipe as he tilted his hat forward and walked towards the door, grabbed his jacket and put it on. "Adios", he said as he opened the door and left before slamming it shut.

The three who remained in the room didn't speak by merely stared at each other.

Óscar coughed and stood up. "Go after him Imelda. You need to fix this", he said refusing to look at her.

"I didn't mean what I said Óscar, I was just upset", she said.

He still didn't look at her as he made his way back to the guest room. "I know. But don't apologize to me. I'll stay here in case Coco wakes up." With that, he shut the bedroom door.

Hector scratched the back of his head before turning towards his wife. "Darling-"

She raised her hand to motion for him to be quiet. "I know, Hector, I know. You don't need to tell me." Grabbing her shawl and wrapping it around herself, she too made her way towards the door.

Hector followed suit. "Do you know where he could have gone?", he asked as he walked beside her down the dark street.

"I have an idea."

* * *

As the two walked down the now deserted streets, dimly lit by the lampposts, they took into account that very few people were out, along with a few stray dogs.

A sign that was shining for the Cantina was their destination. The closer the couple got the closer they could see some men who had a bit too much to drink to think clearly and despite the fact she was with someone, they started whistling and catcalling to Imelda.

She ignored them. Hector however made sure to stay in between as he glared at them.

Arriving at the door to the Cantina, Imelda paused.

"Imelda?", asked Hector, placing his hands on her shoulders.

She blocked him out for a few minutes the more she thought about her brother. These were odd memories to think about right now, but they came flooding back.

 _When she was little, her Mama allowed her to hold each twin at a time. Óscar was asleep but when she held Felipe, he was giggling and kept poking and prodding Imelda's face._

 _A few years later, their Mama and Papa had to work twice as hard with three children and Imelda would be the one in charge. How she adored taking care of her brothers, regardless of how messy they were. They looked up to her._

The twins had always appreciated how much Imelda had to give up her social life to take care of them. So when she needed help taking care of Coco, they pitched in. And how did she repay them? By telling Felipe she wishes he was never born? How selfish and heartless was she?

"I need to find him, Hector, I have to apologize", she said, her voice becoming shaky.

"Hey", said Hector as he hugged her. "We will."

Before they could even enter the establishment, the door burst open towards them and an extremely burly man staggered over to them. He was intoxicated as well. Doing his best to focus didn't help especially when he nearly tripped over his feet. The moment he saw Imelda, he straightened up allowing his stomach to show and slicked his greasy hair back, attempting to look handsome. His yellow teeth and unkempt facial hair didn't help much. "Hello there, beautiful", he said taking a few more steps forward." It was clear he had certain desires the more he looked her over.

Hector immediately outstretched his arm in from of Imelda as he glared at this lowlife. "I suggest you leave, Señor", he said stubbornly.

Before the man could get another word in, a large bottle of bourbon was smashed from behind him on the back of his head. The glass shattering to a millions pieces as he fell to the ground unconscious.

Felipe looked pretty pleased with himself but ultimately looked annoyed when he saw his sister. "I apologize for helping, Imelda. I know how much you hate that."

"Felipe, I, I'm sorry. I never should have said I wished you were never born. I'm truly sorry", said Imelda.

He seemed to be thinking it over but his expression said otherwise. "I don't want to talk about this anymore tonight. I booked a room down at the hotel that I'll be staying at for the rest of the week", he said checking to make sure his fingers didn't get damaged from the glass. "Tell Óscar he's free to join me if he wants. And I'll see you two tomorrow."

Without another word he walked down the street.

"It's a start, I suppose", said Imelda as she desperately tried not to get her hopes up that he could forgive her fully. But one thing was true, he was her brother and she would love him. She'd always love him.


End file.
